The United States' top intelligence agency, Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) says that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) is the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the
world. The official website of FBI in its tops story said that LTTE is
far more dangerous terrorists outfit than al Queda, Hezbullah or even
HAMAS. Read more...

Statement made by Dr Palitha Kohona at UN Security Council Open Debate 10th May, 2011, New York

Sri
Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Palitha Kohona

Full statement by Dr. Palitha Kohona

UN Security Council Open Debate 10th May, 2011, New York

Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

"While the protection of civilians caught in conflict situations
is critical, the unfortunate politicization and selectivity that characterizes
this discussion has affected its credibility. The willingness to adopt wild and
unsubstantiated allegations made in the media, even those disowned by senior
officials of the UN, is regrettable. Such an inconsistent approach and the
unambiguous tendency to target the small and the weak for the rigorous
application of principle also affect post-conflict reconciliation in complex
country situations. Difficult reconciliation processes that are successfully
moving ahead are disrupted by insensitive external interventions."

Mr. President,

Let me join the previous speakers in thanking France for
convening this open debate under your Presidency. I note the presentations made
by the Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, the Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and the
Assistant Secretary- General for Human Rights.

Mr. President, We have followed carefully, the issues
highlighted at the last Security Council debate in November 2010. As a country
that faced a brutal terrorist threat for over two and a half decades, and as a
country whose civilians were a constant target of this threat, until the very
end, we see an overarching need to achieve more tangible differences, especially
in enhancing protection on the ground, for the communities most affected by
conflicts. We also emphasize that this protection task cannot be understood and
addressed solely within the traditional framework, as today's threats require us
to be conscious of a multiplicity of different factors ranging from changing
political realities, socio-economic factors, basic rights of individuals, the
proliferation of small arms, asymmetric warfare, the sophistication of
terrorists, to the complexities of disarmament. We must pay special attention to
vulnerable categories such as women and children who are increasingly exploited
by terrorist groups. A realistic and honest appraisal of protection issues will
help us to identify gaps in the existing protection policy frameworks and guide
our collective efforts at effectively addressing them in a pragmatic manner.

It must be stated categorically that Sri Lanka respects the
principles underlined in the Council's thematic resolutions since 1999. Its
commitment is demonstrated in the manner in which Sri Lanka addressed civilian
protection issues during the conflict with the terrorist LTTE and the speed and
efficacy with which it is now addressing, post conflict issues such as IDP
resettlement, rehabilitation, post-conflict reconstruction and development, and
accountability and reconciliation issues. During almost three decades of
combating terrorism in our country, we took utmost care to draw a clear
distinction between civilians and terrorists. Those who are intent on dismissing
this effort will continue to do so. But, successive Governments had ensured a
continuous supply of essential goods and services such as food, free health
services and education to the Tamil civilians in the North and the East of the
country over the twenty seven years of the conflict despite the control that the
terrorists had over them. While allegations of infractions have emerged after
the end of the conflict, these allegations were not heard until the end became
abundantly clear to the terrorist LTTE. Once the end of the terrorists became
obvious, a well oiled propaganda machine began to churn out reams of allegations
to set the stage to continue the conflict by other means. During the conflict,
Sri Lanka also engaged closely with the international community and related
human rights and humanitarian mechanisms, the UN Agencies, the ICRC and local
and international NGOs to facilitate the provision of the needs of civilians in
terrorist controlled areas, despite the constraints imposed by logistical and
security needs. This close cooperation has extended to the aftermath of the
conflict, in providing for the needs of the displaced population, in their
resettlement and reintegration and the reconstruction of their homes.

Mr. President,

The nature of contemporary conflicts has posed new challenges to
the approach to protect civilians in conflict situations.

Many of today's conflicts take place within States, and involve
non - State armed groups. Sri Lanka's experience relates, in particular, to the
challenges we faced in protecting civilians in the context of an internal
conflict, a challenge to the State itself, involving a ruthless terrorist group,
the LTTE. In Sri Lanka, the LTTE terrorist group made the Tamil civilian
population a part of their military strategy. The terrorists' brutal strategy
was to create a situation inviting civilian casualties by forcing civilians to
be trained in weapons and take up arms, recruiting children for combat duties,
and herding thousands of civilians to form human shields and holding them
hostage and by placing heavy guns in their midst, attracting retaliatory fire.
Some of the children were under 12 years of age. UNICEF recorded over 5700 cases
of child recruitment. They withheld food supplies sent by the Government and
diverted these supplies for use by their armed cadres. The civilians being used
as a human shield by the terrorist group were our own people. This strategy of
the LTTE posed extraordinary operational challenges to our security forces
engaged in combating this group while ensuring the protection of civilians. The
Government, for its part, adopted a zero civilian casualty policy. Our troops
endeavoured to distinguish between combatants and civilians and the protection
and liberation of the civilians from the clutches of the terrorist group was
their highest priority. Over 280,000 civilians were eventually freed.

In this context, the challenges posed by terrorism in many parts
of the world today may necessitate a re-evaluation of the rules of military
engagement. Much of the rules of war are based on the presumption that the
parties to a conflict are conventional armies of responsible states engaging
other state parties. But terrorists disregard these laws and principles as they
wage asymmetric warfare. They mingle with and use civilians to achieve their
goals. Whether it is one human being that is held as a human shield or many, the
fact remains that theirs is an inhumane strategy that existing International
Humanitarian Law has not adequately factored in. Once again, the practical
realities based on the experiences of Member States must be seriously looked at
instead of a theoretical application of one size fits all humanitarian
framework. One size does not fit all, and the complex Sri Lankan experience
seems to demonstrate that reality.

There is a need to recognize the fundamental role of the State
in civilian protection. In the first instance, the role of Governments in
civilian protection should be respected as it is their primary responsibility to
protect their own citizens. The UN and the humanitarian agencies must support
and assist Governments and in doing so be sensitive to ground realities,
including respect for the sovereignty of States. External elements cannot be
readily substituted for the State. This is consistent with the Charter of the
United Nations. Access for humanitarian personnel must be respected but one
cannot disregard the State's responsibility to ensure the safety and security of
humanitarian personnel. Terrorists do not distinguish between military and
humanitarian personnel. The assumption that civilians can best be protected and
cared for only by civilian humanitarian workers from outside the country and
specific INGOs which originate from particular regions of the world contradicts
the fundamental contemporary norm of respecting the sovereign equality of
States.

While the protection of civilians caught in conflict situations
is critical, the unfortunate politicization and selectivity that characterizes
this discussion has affected its credibility. The willingness to adopt wild and
unsubstantiated allegations made in the media, even those disowned by senior
officials of the UN, is regrettable. Such an inconsistent approach and the
unambiguous tendency to target the small and the weak for the rigorous
application of principle also affect post-conflict reconciliation in complex
country situations. Difficult reconciliation processes that are successfully
moving ahead are disrupted by insensitive external interventions.

Mr. President,

An inevitable consequence of armed conflict is internal
displacement. Internal displacement globally is on the rise. There are over 27
Million IDP's worldwide according to UN reports. The State has the primary
responsibility not only to provide for the welfare of displaced civilians in
terms of food, clothing, medical care and shelter, but also to ensure their
safety, in keeping with the provisions of the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement. Sri Lanka has succeeded in returning over 95% of the internally
displaced to their villages and towns in a short period of under eighteen
months, a success that is hard to match elsewhere. Psycho-social counselling is
being provided. Elections have been held at the national and local levels to
return democratic governance to all parts of the country.

Sri Lanka has adopted a human rights based approach to recovery
from the conflict and the strengthening of democratic governance. We have within
a space of two years, massively scaled down the provisions of the Emergency
Regulations, over 80% of the emergency regulations having been repealed.

The biggest constraint to a faster resettlement has been the
clearance of uncharted mine fields laid by the terrorist group in civilian
areas, farmlands and roads. It is estimated that the terrorist group laid around
1.5 million landmines. We continue to rebuild basic infrastructure in the former
conflict-affected areas, including hundreds of schools, roads, irrigation
canals, clinics and houses. The needs of over 80,000 war widows are being
addressed, and Sri Lanka has successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated over
6500 former combatants, including 667 former LTTE child combatants, treating
them as victims rather than as criminals, over 17,000 persons have been reunited
with their families, and vastly improved the security and mobility of people
across the length and breadth of the country. This, Mr. President, is by any
standard, a success story for any post-conflict country.

In keeping with the recognition that it is first and foremost
the responsibility of States to address infractions of the law, and with a view
to initiating a long term healing process, the Government has established a
Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission to address reconciliation and
confidence building issues, including accountability.

Mr. President,

My delegation hopes that the Council discussion on the
protection of civilians will facilitate practical outcomes based on ground
realities. It is for this reason that my delegation has sought to share our
experience, and for all of us to invest greater efforts in preventing conflicts
and their recurrence and to respond practically and proportionately to
situations affecting civilian populations. It is also our view that punishing
the past does not ensure a guilt free future.

Winning War Against
Terror, Human rights violations and War Crimes - An open
letter to Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, Ms. Navi
Pillay, UN Hign Commissioner of Human Rights , Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, Special representative of the UN SG for
Children in Armed Conflict by Warna Hettiarachchi, Canada (Sinhale
Hot News : 6 July 2010).

What is really happening
in Sri Lanka today is that a blood thirsty racist group led by
some misled Tamils called LTTE is terrorizing against the Government
of Sri Lanka and its people irrespective of their ethnicity with an
intention of carving out a separate state. There is no conflict as
such between Sinhalese and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. In fact,
the majority of the Tamil community lives in peace and harmony among
the Sinhalese population through out the country apart from the
Northern part of Sri Lanka. The entire Sinhalese and the Muslims
population who lived in the Northern area for centuries were either
killed or chased away completely by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists.
At the moment, not a single Sinhalese or Muslim is living in Jaffna,
but, many thousands of Tamils are living in Colombo in peace with
the other communities. Based on 2001 census, the Tamil population in
Colombo district is 12.1% (see
2001 census). So, who is discriminated ? Tamils or Sinhalese? Do
you need more evidence ?

The United States' top intelligence
agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) says that the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the
world. The official website of FBI in its tops story said that LTTE is far more
dangerous terrorists outfit than al Queda, Hezbullah or even HAMAS.
Read more...